Toyota RAV4 EV will debut in prototype form in LA next month (Source: Toyota)

Tesla will make EV gear for the RAV4 EV set for 2010

Toyota
was one of the pioneers of hybrid vehicle technology around the world
and the company's technology was so good that it was licensed to
other carmakers for use in their hybrids. While Toyota sells
boatloads of Prius' around the world, other makers are hard at work
on battery and EV tech that is making its way to the public.

Toyota
made an announcement in May of this year that it be investing
$50M into Tesla Motors and that the two would work together
to produce electric vehicles at the NUMMI plant. The first fruits of
that joint venture have been announced with Autoblog
Green
reporting that Toyota and Tesla had inked a $60M deal that will see
Tesla provide the components needed for the RAV4
electric vehicle.

The deal surfaced in a Toyota
regulatory filing this month that showed Tesla will be
developing the battery, power electronics module, electric motor,
gearbox, and software for the Toyota RAV4 EV. The first prototype of
the electric RAV4 will be seen at the LA Auto show and the vehicle
isn’t expected to be commercially available until 2012. Hard specs
on the RAV4 EV and the electric drive components being developed for
the car are not available at this time

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